The Swamp
by Frukechan
Summary: Nick, Ellis, Coach and Rochelle are forced to crash into a swamp after the hope of finally being rescued comes to a quick end when their helicopter pilot turns out to be infected.
1. Helicopter Failure

**The Swamp Chapter 0; Helicopter Failure**

"NICK! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? THAT'S THE PILOT!" Ellis screamed as I began unloading my pistol shots into the zombie in front of us. He lunged at my from the side, grabbing my arms and forcing them in a different direction from the pilot.

"Yea, Nick! Do you have a death wish or somethin'?" Rochelle yelled from behind us as she continued patching Coach up with what first aid we still had from the Midnight Rider's concert stage.

"You really need to stop that shit Nick..." Coach managed as I tried wrestling away from Ellis, while trying to keep my eyes on the now zombie-pilot fighting to break free from the safety belt around him.

"ELLIS! Let go! You might not see it, but he's changed! He's not the pilot anymore! He's just a zombie now!" He just shook his head, holding onto me tighter. For a moment, just a moment, I believed he was actually scared. As though he just wanted the nightmare to end... like the rest of us.

Ellis snatched one of my pistols from my hands and aimed it at me at the same time I lifted my other gun and aimed it at the zombies' head. "I can't let you do that Nick. He's our only way out of here."

"Only way out of this shit hole or nightmare Ellis?" I snapped back at him, not taking my eyes off the infected pilot. "Look at him. He's almost ripped through that belt, he's drooling everywhere, his skin has already starting to mutate. Besides, he's not doing a very good job at flying anymore now is he?" I flicked my hand towards it as if I was showing him all my points. Ellis didn't move.

"... just can't let you Nick." I couldn't help but look him in the eye. I glanced back at Coach and Rochelle, who made it clear they didn't agree with me either.

Just then the pilot broke free of the belt, the helicopter system began beeping, and leaped at us. He had become a Hunter. "ELLIS!" My mind went blank for a moment, I had thought I would get used to this after awhile but it was as though I was at square one again. I pulled Ellis behind me, switching spots, and fired my remaining shots before I was pounced to the floor of the helicopter. "Arh! I'm down!"

Ellis bolted towards me and punched the Hunter off, unleashing all the rounds he had in the pistol. He extended a hand to me and attempted to pull one of my arms around his shoulder. "Nick! I'm not leaving you here!"

I swatted his hand away. "The choppers' already going down. Don't be an idiot Ellis. You don't have any time. I'll only slow you down. Grab the first aid packs from the choppers supply rack and go! NO! Leave the guns! There's... no time!" I yelled as he scurried around grabbing what he could in the increasingly shorter amount of time.

He shoved a container of pain pills in my face. "My buddy Keith survived a tornado by being numb all over his body... maybe you can too." I reluctantly took the bottle and swatted him away. Right before he jumped, he turned back to me "you better make it out of this!" I couldn't do anything but give him a cheap smile in an attempt to calm his worries.

The beeping became louder, signaling that it was approaching the ground quickly. I stared at the pills in my hand. "Might as well die without any pain..." I muttered to myself as I chugged the bottle. The beeping... the scene around me... the pain... had already started to fade away... _Live Ellis_


	2. Plank Country Prologue

**The Swamp Chapter 0.5; Plank Country Prologue**

_The sound of a helicopter's wings grew steadily closer. For a split moment, all four of us stopped and looked up into the darkening sky. Rochelle was the first one to see it, "IT'S COMING IN ON THE LEFT!" She called out as she swung her axe through a zombie, decapitating it. _

"_Damn it!" I yelled after taking in my surroundings once more. I was on the right side, at the top of the stands. Infected were starting to swarm me from all directions, the sides, behind me from the half fenced off passage; they were even pouring out from the entrance to the concert area down below. While I reloaded my dual pistols, I watched as Rochelle picked up coach and grabbed the last health pack before running towards the chopper. Ellis had slung the hunting rifle on his back along with the combat shotgun and crowbar. He had already begun climbing down the first of the two ladders of the wooden platform down to the stands. I waved him over as I, myself descended back to the stage area. I sprinted to the control table and grabbed a few adrenaline shots, sticking one in a hatch on my belt and carrying the other in my mouth just in case._

_I turned around just in time to see him hop over the railing down to the concrete only to be tackled by a charger, all the way to the stairs I had just come from. "He's got me! Someone help!" I acted as fast as my injured body would allow. I knew it would take too long to shot him with just pistols and my sniper would need to be reloaded. I looked around frantically for anything… anythin- my eyes locked on with the ninja sword that Coach had dropped for a guitar. I shoved the guns into the space they had in my belt and lunged for the katana. "He's pounding me into the ground! Anybody!" I ran at the charger, the sword raised high, slashing down- cutting its giant arm off. The charger stumbled backwards, probably stunned._

"_Ellis! Are you ok?" He grabbed my hand immediately after I extended it and I quickly yanked him up from the ground. Ellis stumbled forward, without realizing it I had flung my arm in front of him on the intent to catch him if he did fall again. He leaned into my arm for a moment before pushing it away, giving me a half hearted smile before retrieving his crowbar._

_We heard multiple shrieks coming from the entrance to the stage area. "Nick… maybe we would head for the stands now…" He suggested nervously as we watched for a second as another horde began pouring out into the open._

"_Ah shit!" I threw down the ninja sword as I turned to follow Ellis up the stairs. On the last step I took out my pistols and shot the bin full of firecrackers. "That should give us a few more seconds." Ellis had already run past the ammo pile and up towards the stage lights when I heard an all-to-familiar cough. I switch to my sniper and reload as quickly as I can. I looked all around for the green trail of the Smoker all the while backing up towards the helicopter._

_Out of nowhere I see this tongue shoot out at me. I lost my balance as it slithered around my body. I dropped my sniper rifle as the slippery tongue started to pull back to its owner. "ARHH! SMOKER!" I yelled, struggling to get to my pistols, feeling the tongue tightening its grip as if to make sure I couldn't get away._

"_Nick?" Ellis stopped dead, his eyes scanning for me. "Nick!" I saw him switch to his hunting rifle and look through the scope, getting ready for his shot._

_Something moved behind him on the top level by the stage lights. I squinted trying to get a better look. "ELLIS! JOCKEY BEHIND YOU!" His head popped up from behind the rifle. He did what seemed like a double take before screaming. He fell forward a bit before getting up and running away from the Jockey…backwards. He stumbled down the steps until he hit the railing, kicking half of the ammo pile into the floor now a sea of burning corpses. "Ellis!" The Jockey jumped at him- I couldn't help closing my eyes and looking away… BANG! BANG! … BANG!_

"_Come on Nick!" I opened my eyes and Ellis was desperately trying to untangle me from the tongue. For a moment I just stared at him. "This would go a bit faster if you helped." I lifted my arms up and unraveled the rest from my torso._

"_Ellis, how the hell did you-?" He put a finger on my lips, immediately shutting me up. He grabbed my forearm and pulled me to my feet. I looked around. We were back were we started. "God damnit!" I pulled out both of my adrenaline shots._

_All of a sudden the ground began shaking and a deafening ROOOARR erupted behind us, filling the entire stadium. "TAAAANNNK!" Ellis screamed. We both backed up a few feet before attempting to limp away._

_Ellis had started to reload his hunting rifle. "Forget that!" I slapped the gun down onto the ground. I shoved one of the shots in his face. "Take it; it might be out last chance…" I opened up the top and rammed the needle into my thigh. "y-OUCH!" I felt energy pulsing through me. "Hurry Overalls!" I looked for the chopper- it was slowly lifting up higher into the air. "Shit! They're gunna fuckin' leave us if we don't hurry!" _

_My legs moved faster than I had expected. "Come on! I can't hold it here for much longer!" The pilot's voice echoed from the helicopter speaker. We were so close… just a few more feet. I could already feel the energy quickly draining from my tired body. In a last effort I jumped, catching the landing rail of the helicopter._

"_Nick!" Rochelle called to me, relieved, as she yelled me up into the main part of the chopper. "Alright let's go!" Rochelle yelled to the pilot, who mumbled something and began to ascend._

"_Ellis… we made it… hahah-" I glanced to my side, it was empty. "Ellis?" Rochelle put a hand on my shoulder. She shook her head. "… no. No! We can't just leave him!" He was just some kid I meet on top of a hotel at the beginning of all this. I hated his constant Keith stories; they hardly ever related to what was happening and he always started one at the most inconvenient time. Still… I couldn't leave the kid… "GO BACK!"_

"_Nick…" Rochelle leaned down in front of me. "There's no way he's still up. We didn't see him behind you at all after the Tank showed u-"_

_I pushed her hands off my shoulders. "No! We go back! I'm not leaving him behind!" The pilot consented and lowered the chopper once more. I leaned over the edge, scanning the area where I last saw him. "_ELLIS_!" I called out once. "_WHERE ARE YOU_!" I screamed. The more seconds that ticked by, the more nervous I got. The more everything started to blur._

"…n… ick…. Nick!"

"Ellis?" The helicopter started to shake back and forth. "Ellis? Ellis!"

"Nick I'm right here. What's wrong?" My eyes flew open as my body 'jumped' and I felt a light pressure on my chest. I was breathing fast as my vision was starting to focus. "Nick? You seemed like you were having a nightmare…" Ellis was staring down at me with a concerned expression. "Hey Rochelle, Coach, he's up! I told ya'guys!" Despite his apparent excitement his voice was still soft.

"Uhg…" I groaned as I tried pushing myself up; but Ellis gently pushed me back down, his arms around me, shaking his head. "El...lis? What the-?" I lifted my head up and immediately rested it back down. I shut my eyes; all my muscles felt like they were on fire. I felt a hand caressing my forehead as if to make me feel better, to take away my pain. I opened my eyes again to see Ellis just staring straight, assuming at Rochelle and Coach. "Where…?"

"Yo'Nick. You gave us quite the scare." I heard Rochelle's voice and turned towards it the best I could. "Yeah, if it weren't fo'Ellis, you would have really died." I looked back up at Ellis who just happily smiled. _He… went back for me?_

"Yea. This kid just wouldn't accept that you would die from something like that choppa crashing." I could see Coach better than I could see Ro. He was counting the bullets in the ammo pile next to him and actually sorting them into their groups. "When the three of us jumped, we ran for cover fo'the crash. We waited a while before moving again since it caused quite the ruckus. Rochelle spotted this train cart. But Ellis, here, couldn't look away from the wreckage."

Rochelle walked over to us and took Ellis' hat jokingly. "Hey give it back!" He moved forward and I winced in pain. "Oh… sorry Nick." He said, as he replaced his hand on my forehead, moving a few strains of my hair back.

"Neither of us could believe it when Ellis actually found you in one piece." Rochelle added, twirling the hat around.

Ellis beamed down at me. "I couldn't leave you behind so easily Nick when I heard how you reacted when I wasn't on the helicopter with you guys at first…." He looked away from my eyes and… no it must've been the lighting or lack there of because his face turned a light shade of pink for a moment. "…besides… I wouldn't be here with y'all if it weren't for you, Nick."

Despite the pain, I lifted myself up into a sitting position. I back up until my back hit the wall next to Ellis. I lifted my arm and plopped my hand on Ellis' head, messing his hair around. "Thanks kid." I could see a faint smile on his face, which slowly faded after I retraced my hand.

"Alright, alright." Rochelle offered up the hat to Ellis. He snatched it out of her hand and flipped it back onto his head, covering his light brown hair.

"Much obliged."

I glanced at everyone. Rochelle was leaning up against the wall opposite the hole in the side where the door was. Coach was throwing a bullet into the air repeatedly. "What's the plan then?" I asked, totally intent not to even ask that.

Everyone just looked at each other. Coach spoke up first. "Well we hadn't really come up with one yet. We couldn't do anything until you woke up. We weren' even sure you'd do that." I watched as he caught the bullet again.

"Well we sure as hell can't stay here if we still have any hope of getting out of this shit hole." I struggled as I tried to stand up. Ellis shot up and took my arm, slinging it over his shoulder. "Where are we? Do we even have any supplies?"

Ellis walked me over to the 'supply corner' and pointed out everything. "We have three first-aid kits, a few P220 Pistols, some Chrome Shotguns and Silenced Machine Guns. My crowbar broke trying to look for you, and we lost all of our other weapons in the crash." Ellis leaned me up against a wall.

"Three? I thought there were four." Ellis scratched at the back of his head nervously.

"I… uh… had to use one to bandage you up Nick." I quickly looked away from him and at my own body. It was true. I had gauze and bandages all over my arms, legs and torso. He handed me one of the pistols. "It's one of your pistols you had from the Whispering Oaks Amusement Park." I slowly took it out of his hand and reloaded it, just in case. "I hope you don't mind… I'm keeping the other one. We're a little short."

I couldn't help smiling. "No problem Ellis." I undid the safety and held up the gun. My joints and muscles were already feeling better as the minutes rolled on. I put the pistol in its proper place on my belt and turned to everyone. "So what's the plan then?"


	3. Plank Country Part 1

**The Swamp Chapter 1; Plank Country **_**Part 1**_

"The swamp people?"

"Yea. Ya'know, the people who actually live in the swamp."

"Well yeah, I got that from the swamp PEOPLE Ellis."

"Boys, quiet. We don't want to advertize to those… zombies that we're still goin' even after the crash." Rochelle harshly whispered to Ellis and me as she took up the front as if we were in a formation. Ro in front, Coach in the back, and the two of us in the middle. "Damn… looks like the roads are blocked here too." Rochelle grumbled.

_I wonder how that train got off the tracks and was able to swerve around this gas station… enclosing it…_ But my thoughts were soon interrupted. "I guess we'll jus'haveta go through this here gas station and see where it takes us." Coach walked ahead of everyone else to point at the fallen part of the fence that seemed to surround the station. He squinted, trying to see farther up our apparent path in the dark. "There's another opening in the fence here as well." He said turning to us while pointing to where he was talking about. From the looks of it, we'd come up on the other side of the truck that originally blocked that path.

"'NO CEDA – NO MILITARY… STAY OUT!' Hey guys, what do ya make of this?" Ellis was standing right in front of a green sheet that had those words almost spray painted in white. His body cast a shadow through the fence and onto the ground from a generator behind him. When he turned towards us with his question I couldn't help but notice how his eyes lit up along with his smile. Despite how no one in our group has been able to take an actual shower in the past couple of days, I could still see strands of his hair that stuck out from his hat light up. For a moment, I had forgotten we were running for our lives from dead cannibals that all appear to have blood dripping from their mouths, rotting flesh under their nails and between their teeth.

"God I just hope that means there'll be less people around… ha! 'cause that'd mean fewer zombies to deal with." I walked around a red car and stood by Coach who gave me a disgusted look. "What? It's true; less people, less zombies." I sighed in defeat, watching Coach continued to just shake his head.

Ro sulked up to the first gas pump, reading in a depressed voice "Out of gas…. That's just great. I guess we can't use that car to drive out of here like we did in the mall…"

"Yeah sorry guys. I know y'all think I'm some kind of master mechanic, but I don't think even Jimmy Gibbs Jr. could be driven through all this mud and water." Ellis kicked a stone through the fence, his eyes focused on the ground as if he was disappointed with himself. Then he lifted his head up and smiled his stupid kid smile… the one that was supposed to mask his emotions; the one that he used to show that he was tough and was ready to move on with the rest of the group. But I could tell otherwise. If this was getting to anyone even slightly, it was him. I mean of the four of us, he's the youngest; redneck or not. Sometimes I had the overwhelming urge to just… I watched as Ellis walked by the red car Rochelle was referring to, letting his hand glide over the sides and trunk as he passed it by. He came to a stop in front of Coach and I; wearing that same smile as he hung his hands from his jean pockets.

Almost instinctually I turned away as if the barren wall of the gas station was suddenly of great interest. In the corner of my eye I saw Ellis turn the other way as well and Coach put a hand on his shoulder. But his outward state didn't even phase.

The moon had begun to shine through the clouds. I could see the beams of light moving on the group, lighting up rows of land at a time before moving onto the next one. My hand shot up in front of my eyes, shielding them from a glare. I looked down and behind the first gas pump was a Magnum Pistol. "Nice." I walked over and picked it up. I immediately took out my P220 Pistol, "Ellis-" I tossed it and he caught it with both hands "-I won't need that anymore." I couldn't help but grin, holding up my newly acquired Magnum.

"Hey thanks Nick." He flicked his hand as if he was tipping his hat to me, but with a gun instead. Then he proceeded to practically take apart the gun where he stood. Checking every inch that he could, as well as making sure it was loaded.

Rochelle began to search the ground for anything else. "I suppose there weren't two…?"

"No, there was only this… one…" I began to take a closer look at my latest find. I switched it to my other hand. The gun itself was covered in mud and blood belonging to who knows what. I looked to my hand, a good layer of pieces of grass and mud. It was disgusting. "I highly doubt you guys have any hand sanitizer with you-" I must have made a truly disgusted face because everyone started laughing; but soon attempted to stifle it, so we wouldn't alert anything to our whereabouts. Ellis was fucking horrible at it. "-alright, ALRIGHT." I rolled my eyes at the world and whipped what I could off on the lower half of my suit, for lack of a better option. "… excuse a man for being concerned about germs during a **zombie** apocalypse…." I grumbled to myself.

The clouds shifted once more and again the moonlight lit up the surroundings with rays of gray white, illuminating the eyes of the infected in our vicinity. Coach took a step forward and cocked his shotgun, "Aye guess the only way fo'us to go is this way and keep moving. Everybody ready?" But before anyone could respond, a symphony of gurgled roars echoed throughout the area. I had just finished attaching the flashlight to my magnum when everyone's head shot up, looking around. Immediately we paired up, back-to-back, Coach & Ellis and Rochelle & I. We could hear the zombies' quickened footsteps on the grass.

We had just made it to the other side of the gas station fence when Coach yelled. "HOLY SHI- WATCH OUT!" Rochelle and I whipped out heads to our left. I saw the pack of zombies running at full speed and climbing over the wooden fence; the only thing separating them from us. I raised the magnum and shot the first zombie in the shoulder. It stumbled back but Rochelle finished the job with her pistol.

A few more had reached the fence and I just emptied my clip. I could hear shots whizzing by my head. "Gotta reload-" I yelled immediately without a hesitation. I had grown accustomed to that phrase spilling from my lips and going through my ears.

I looked back at Coach and Ellis who were firing as fast as they could. I clicked the safety off just as I saw another group of infected falling from the top of the truck that originally blocked our path. "Look out!" I unloaded my clip on the zombies closer to the two of them. Ellis turned his head and stumbled back besides Coach as the first fell by where his feet were. "Good keep it up Rochelle!" I instructed, continuing to hoot with Ellis.

"To the left!" Coach called out, shooting to towards the new direction.

"It's too much…." She hastily began reloading. "They're everywhere!"

"Back here quick!" The three of us looked around for where Ellis had gone. He was inside some warehouse right a few yards behind us holding a red gas can. We all ran inside. It was perfect, only one way for the horde to come at us, no surprises from some random direction. Ellis threw the can into the fray, aimed and the ground where we had been was now engulfed in flames. The creatures caught in the middle died instantly, the ones who ran into it kept running, but flailed about as they slowly burned to their second death.

The four of us slumped onto the ground in relief. Enjoying the calm moment; Rochelle & Coach leaning up again some boxes in the far back of the warehouse, Ellis against the shelves while I was in the corner closest to the fire, with my back to the wall and magnum aimed outside.

Of course, every calm moment where we finally get a chance to breathe is always short lived. Through the flames a Charger ran, straight at Ro and Coach as well as an all too familiar slimy tongue. The Charger rammed right past Rochelle- who slammed into a wall- and grabbing Coach started slamming him into the ground. The Smoker's tongue had wormed itself around Ellis' body, already pulling him out, closer to the fire.

"CHARGERS GOT ME!" I could see Rochelle was out cold.

"Ah!" Ellis' had been jerked forward onto his stomach. "… aww shit no!" He struggled to get into a sitting position where at least he could fight again the Smoker's pulling with his feet. All he could muster was getting his back to the flames, digging his heels into the ground as best he could.  
>Without much thought of who was in more danger, I dove in behind Ellis, putting myself between him and the still burning grass. I could feel the small pulls and jerks the Smoker was making as I was back to back with Ellis, inching closer and closer. "Nick? Nick! Shoot the tongue!"<p>

"Yeah, I would if I could." It was then I realized, in my haste I dropped my gun just feet away. I locked around, for anything… I spotted a machete off to the side. I reached my hand out for it, extending my arm as far as I could. I shifted closer to it and Ellis slid right into my leg- I had no idea I was making that much of a difference in keeping him where he was. I quickly moved back and exhaled deeply hanging my head. _We're stuck…_ Ellis was shaking, he knew it too.

I lifted my head up. "Rochelle! Wake the fuck up!" I adjusted myself so I was still backed up against Ellis, but so I could attempt to reach the machete with my feet.

"Nick what are you doing?" His head turned as far as possible to his left, trying to see what was going on.  
>The heel of my shoe caught the handle and I retracted my leg, causing the machete to move within arms reach. I grabbed the blade- "I'm getting us out of this mess-" flipped it, so I'd have hold of the handle, and sliced right through the saliva covered tongue. It shot back through the fire, leaving a light trail of greenish blood while the rest around Ellis went limp.<p>

Standing up, I saw Rochelle had started to move a bit but Coach had stopped fighting against the Charger. I picked up his Chrome Shotgun and unloaded it into the special infected's back. It died with a groan and fell to the side. "Come on, you're fine." I told Coach as I helped him up.  
>"Thanks…" He trailed off as I turned right back around to help Ellis, Coach went to check on Rochelle.<p>

I began aiding him in unwrapping the tongue from his torso and legs. "You gunna be ok?" He wiggled out of the rest and nodded. I extended my hand out to him and pulled him up onto his feet. He brushed off some dirt and took out his pistols checked them over.  
>"Well these weren't very helpful… couldn't even get to'em." I glanced down at the machete.<p>

"Here." I took a pistol out of his hand and placed the machete in it. My hand lingered there for what seemed like a while before Ellis closed his fingers around the handle. Our fingers touched… and I kept my hand there… almost as if I relished that brief moment. We looked at each other, neither of us saying a word; until the world called upon us once more.

"Sorry that I wasn't much help…" Rochelle had her head down in self disappointment. Coach was already standing straight, so Rochelle must have already patched him up. Now the only first aids we have are the ones Ellis and I have strapped to our backs.

"Don't sweat it. We're all still alive." She walked over towards us; bent down, took the two pistols, threw one to Coach and reloaded her new one. "Hey y'all there's a shot and some fire bullets over here."

"I'd like that adrenaline shot…" Ellis raised his hand a little ready to catch it when Coach tossed it. He looked to be in worse a shape than I thought. Our eyes met again and he must have seen something because he smiled weakly at me. I nervously turned my head away and walked over to get some incendiary ammo.

We walked through what appeared to be a small- deserted- town. We checked all the houses we could that weren't boarded up as quickly as we could. Coach found a frying pan and some boomer bile, Rochelle found some pills in a bathroom and Ellis found a Molotov on the top bunk of a bunk bed.

I walked into a small store whose shelves already looked picked over. I rested my gun on my shoulder as I checked around. Behind the counter I found a pipe bomb on the floor. I bent down and retrieved it. When I stood back up Ellis was standing on the other side of the counter, with his hand resting on the surface. I jumped.

"Whoa, didn't mean to scare ya'Nick." He smiled… no, probably just at my reaction. A few moments of awkward silence ticked on by. "So. Find anything?" I held up the pipe bomb. "Oh… cool." I went around the counter and started eying the shelves for anything still edible.

"Where'd Rochelle and Coach go?" I asked casually, trying to break the silence that seemed to loom around us recently.

"Oh, they went to the store across the street…" My eyes locked on with a box of unopened Poptarts. "Hey Nick?" I grabbed the box and turned back towards Ellis, offering him a package. "I just wanted… to thank you…"

"For what?" I asked before biting into the blueberry pastry.

"For saving me. If you didn't do what you did, I woulda been dragged off through that fire." Ellis opened the bag. I could hear his stomach rumble as the scent of food reached his nose. We both laughed…

For a few minutes we both leaned against the counter eating our first calm meal in days. When we were in the Amusement Park we'd literally have to grab whatever we saw that didn't have mold growing on it and eat & run; never fully enjoying the flavors. We crumbled up the wrappers and stuffed them back into the original box then just… stayed there, enjoying it.

After a while I spoke up, "we should probably meet back up with Coach an-"

"Nick." Ellis cut me off. All it took for him was to say my name and I was silent. I glanced over at him; he was staring at the floor with his arms crossed. He must have felt my eyes on him, since he lifted his head up. He pushed off from the counter and stood directly in front of me, my eyes following his every move.

He stepped closer, now only inches from me. Instinctively I leaned back, but not to create more distance I realized, but to stabilize myself. In case I woke up… even though I knew I wasn't asleep.

Ellis placed his hands on the counter on either side of me. Keeping me there. He looked at me with what seemed like no emotion. Usually he's an easy read… but this time I had no idea what he was thinking.

All at once I felt a hand on my hip, and one on my cheek. Ellis leaned closer, pressing his body against mine. The next and only thing I heard was the soft whisper of my name coming from his lips before they touched mine. All of a sudden… there was no zombie apocalypse. We weren't trying to survive from flesh eating monsters. And I wasn't running...

We opened our eyes as Ellis moved away. Apparently my hands had grabbed a hold of his shirt at some point. Neither of us said anything, we just stood there. Finally I stepped past him and went to find Rochelle. At first I didn't know if Ellis had followed me, but then I was able to hear his footsteps.

Coach and Rochelle were on the porch of the building when we spotted each other. "Where have y'all been? We need to get moving."

"Yeah, we just checked out that convenient store." Ellis walked past me, pointing towards the small building. "Nick found a pipe bomb, might come in handy later."

The four of us continued through the town. Ellis was on the far right of our group while I was on the far left, Rochelle and Coach between us. We soon came up to a wide river. We all looked around for a way to get across. Rochelle pointed out a 'Caution Deep Water' sign with a picture of someone getting eaten by an alligator, Coach spotted a boat on the other side of the river and Ellis laughed at a Charger that was strung up by its limbs to two wooden stakes in the air.

"I guess we gotta call that boat over here… it'll probably make a lot of noise. Everyone ready?" We all gathered around Ellis as he pulled the lever. It made a couple loud clicks before starting for real. There was a constant groan coming from the lines pulling the boat to our side.  
>In the not far distance quickened footsteps were audible. We all faced the sound of trampling feet, raising our guns ready for the fight. Ellis, Rochelle, Coach and I were all standing on the dock.<p>

We were doing ok for quite some time. The zombies would run at us and we'd have enough time to shoot them all before they were able to close the distance between us. Even when they came from a different direction we were able to fight them off. Everything was fine until- "Look out! Goo!" screamed Rochelle. Flying through the air was a clumped mass of acid that- as soon as it touched the ground- blew up and covered the area in blubbing green goo.

I dove under the sign and took out the pipe bomb. "Grenade!" I threw the bomb towards the tied up Charger. Anywhere for us to get a few seconds to get it back together.

"Good idea Nick!"

"RELOADING!" Ellis fiddled with the shells trying hastily to get ready for the next wave. I looked out from behind the sign. Ellis had just taken the safety off and Rochelle had just picked up Coach again when a Charger came sprinting at them at full speed. It rammed right into Ellis, grabbing hold of his shirt and bowled right through Coach and Rochelle sending them flying into the water. The Charger kept running though, right into the river where it disappeared under the water… with Ellis still in its grip.

"No…. NO! ELLIS!" I crawled to the edge of the river searching the water for any bubbles coming up. Nothing. No sign of Ellis… Coach, Rochelle or even the Charger. The water was eerily still. I was… alone.

I struggled to get to my feet. They shook so hard I was surprised I didn't just fall back down. I wobbled back onto the dock awaiting for the boat to arrive or something… to come try to take me. I emptied my clip and refilled it. I waited, listening to the soft chipping sound of the lever. I turned my head, the boat was almost here… but then again what's the point?

I was brought back into reality from a high pitched screech. I looked all over for the Hunter. My eyes found it on top of the roof right before he leapt at me. I raised the magnum and pulled the trigger. There was a yelp and a thud to my left. I opened my eyes and the Hunter was dead.

It was then when I realized the chipping sound had stopped. The boat had arrived. I scrambled to my feet and darted onto the boat. I slammed my magnum against the button. The gates of the boat slid closed and I collapsed in the middle of the floor.


	4. Plank Country Part 2

**The Swamp Chapter 1.5; Plank Country Part 2**

_I wiped the tears away attempting to clear my eyes and in hopes that no one noticed. I heard the latch of the helicopter door close behind me as my eyes scanned the areas; the stage, the lights station, the stands, the floor. Peering through the sniper scope I noticed there was an unusually large huddle of zombies by the container of firecrackers. The few stragglers who weren't doing anything meaningful ran towards that spot when they looked over. Some stumbled back, some were slashing, some were… gushing blood._

_BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG! BANG-BANG! I pulled the trigger as fast as my sore body would let me. I didn't wait to aim as well as I did for the first shot after each recoil; I aimed for any part of the infected, not just their vitals._

_By the time I had to reload there was a pile of dead corpses. I did not need to watch my hands as they went through the motions of reloading, instead I kept my eyes glued to that spot, waiting for any sign that Ellis was actually there. I had just clicked the safety off when his head came into view. 'He must have been crouching…' I thought as I smiled._  
><em>Our eyes met and I jerked my head. He nodded towards me and began trying to sneak as close to the chopper as he could before having to fight off more infected. "Ellis is alive."<em>

_I heard footsteps directly behind me. Rochelle must have stepped closer to see for herself. "Where?" She asked, apparently looking farther away then she needed too._

_"There." She let the red laser guide her to where I was looking for it was following Ellis almost exactly. Every few seconds a common would spot him as he limped closer, only to find itself within my cross hairs and crumbling to the ground._  
><em>Ellis was just feet from the railing when-<em>

The sudden sound of water being splashed around caused me to sit up too fast, making my head spin. I looked around, seeing nothing at first. I waited a few seconds before laying back down just in case. Despite not knowing what it was, I was glad to hear the splashing sound again. I turned my head toward the noise, watching the water be thrust around.

A hand shot up from beneath the surface, grabbing hold of one of the lower bars to the boat's door. I jumped back, reaching for the magnum. With shaking hands I aimed, ready to defend myself. Seconds later another hand shot up grabbing a bar, then slipped and slapped onto the surface. _A zombie wouldn't do that… would it? It would just pull itself up…_I thought as I watched the struggle.

The next thing I saw both shocked and excited me. A blue and white hat with a cartoon drawing of a car on the front appeared from the water. "Ellis?!" Immediately I dropped the gun in my hands. His arm shot out of the water again, this time wrapping around the door. There was terror on his face… as well as the look he always has when he's on the brink of exhaustion. I scurried towards him, reached through the bars and took hold of his tee shirt in an attempt to keep him afloat. "Ellis…! Hang in there!" I could feel his body shivering.

He coughed out water and swallowed some. "…Ni… ck…?" His head rolled forward, his arms started to unwind from the bars… his body went limp. I began to panic. I stood up, retracting one of my arms so I could reach over the railing. Once I knew I had a firm grip on Ellis's shirt I let go with my other arm and took hold of his other shoulder. Breathing heavily, I used what strength I had left along with a frustrated cry to hoist him up out of the water and onto the boat.

Out of energy, I let him down onto the floor and sat down on the bench seats. I let my head fall back. My eyes shot open as I heard more thrashing in the water. I lifted my head up to see a common quickly lifting itself over the railing where I had just dragged Ellis up and over. Exhausted I fell to my knees on the floor, desperately reaching for the gun. I scooped it into my hands, took the safety off and- out of the water a giant alligator shot up like a rocket, taking the infected back down under. Flabbergasted, my muscles lose their strength again and I fall back down, lying next to the man I thought was dead only moments ago.

For some reason, I couldn't help but smile as I gazed at his 'sleeping' face. He was on his stomach, with his eyes closed in a surprisingly peaceful expression. Extending my arm towards him, I brushed a few stray strands of hair away from his eyes before resting my arm upon the floor once more. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his breathing. I never thought a sound like that could make me feel so happy. It was another surprising moment in this new life of ours, to feel happiness in between fighting for your survival. Before all of this shit happened, I got joy from the sound of money flipping through my fingers… never would I have even imagined back then that the sound of a man's breathing could be even better than that.

I allowed myself to run my fingers against his cheek. The image of the kiss slowly appeared in my mind as I trailed my fingers over Ellis' soft lips. I jerked my hand away as soon as I noticed him stir. His eyes fluttered for a moment before opening completely. He rolled over onto his back before coughing. We both sat up. I patted his back as he continued to cough, what I presumed was any water still left in his lungs.

Once he ceased he turned to me. "ahem… Nick?" Ellis looked around, taking in his surroundings. "Did… you pull me up?" I nodded. We both smiled and for some reason began to laugh silently. Without warning he turned towards me and in the same movement wrapped his arms around me in a hug. He grasped my blue button up shirt tightly as he rested his head on my chest.

I was once again reminded of Ellis' shaking. I could feel every shiver that went through his body. I sighed, pushing him back in order to have more room. I promptly stripped myself of my white jacket and placed it on Ellis' shoulders. He looked up in confusion at first, which was soon replaced with gratitude and pulled the sides closer together. "I'm sure it's a little too big on you… but you'll get warmed faster if you wear it like this." Smiling, I took his hands in mine and helped him put his arms through the sleeves.  
>Ellis looked away. "Nick I'm sorry… about earlier."<p>

I waved my hand. "Don't worr-"

"No." He leaned closer. I could feel his staggered breath on my skin. "It… wasn't right of me to... do that. So, I'm sorry Nick, really. If you want to just forget it happened, I'll never bring it up again." Not once did he look directly at me. _This idiot…_

Sighing, I leaned back on my hand, brushing my hair back with the other. It was then when the doors on the other side of the boat began to move themselves open, in an attempt to expel us. The seconds turned to minutes as we both watched the doors come to a halt on either side, screeching during every inch.

For a moment Ellis and I just sat there, staring out at the swampy forest. We both knew we would have face it if we wanted to get out of this alive. To the right was a dense set of trees that we'd have no hope of maneuvering through. My eyes followed the wooden walkway that stretched out from the dock and ran above the swamp water. Up ahead I could barely see that there were broken slabs of wood that had sunk into the murky water. Thankfully, though, to the left was dry ground. All I could see from here was a small shack but I was grateful we wouldn't have to be struggling through a foot of mud at... despite how short a stretch of land it could be.

Ellis' voice brought me back. "We're sitting ducks just waiting here..." I stood, unlocking the magnum. From what I could see, no infected were near us yet. Ellis groaned as he tried to stand. I held out a helping hand which he gladly took and hoisted him up. He retrieved his machete from his belt, tossing it back and forth between his hands. "We might as well go now, before they get the chance to corner us here."

Ellis took one step off the boat and my hand shot out, grabbing his arm. He stopped, looking back at me in confusion. I searched my mind for a decent excuse... one that wouldn't scream _I don't want to lose you again_. Without meaning too I blurted out a response. "I... think I should go first. You're probably still exhausted..." He stared at me as if he were debating whether or not there was any hidden meaning behind my words. He gladly stepped back, waiting for me to go first.

I let go of his arm and stepped onto the wooden platform. Just a few moments ago everything was calm. Ellis was with me and we were safe. But the second I stepped off the ferry fear crept in. I resisted the urge to turn back to him, to make sure he was there with me and that I wasn't alone. Because alone, I wouldn't last even a few hours. At least with someone with me, I'd stand somewhat of a chance. "Let's just get this shit over with..."

First we checked out what was on the patch of land. An empty shack and a few picnic tables with rags and a few empty beer cans. In short, nothing of interest. After checking whether the area is clear, which strangely there isn't even one infected around, we moved on. The whole thing was eerie.

The next thing we checked out was a bigger shack, that was off of the wooden walkway. The door was already gone, a spot in the wall missing looking out into the swamp and a few broken windows. We both immediately walked in. We searched around the boxes, on the shelves and in the corners. I found a molotov on one of the lower shelves while Ellis disappointingly, found nothing.

I was just about to leave the shack when Ellis grabbed me, and pulled me back against the wall, covering my mouth with his hand. I began to struggle out of his grip when he raised his finger to his lips. He took his hand off my mouth and we both listened. He took a step back, giving me space. I continued to listen, this time closing my eyes. It was then that I heard it. The noise was soft and low. "... witch..." Ellis whispered.

"Great... just what we need. A bitch." I leaned back against the wall. Frustrated, I hit the wall. Ellis shook his head. Surely I can't be the only one who's sick of never catching a break.

"Nick." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find a way around her." He said, speaking as though he even doubted his words. We checked all of our equipment before leaving, making sure that if we needed something it would be easy to get to in a pinch.

We walked out of the shack stopping at what appeared to a bathtub. "Left or right?" We both asked at the same time. Our jinx induced a smile out of both of us. I pointed to the left, where the walk way went high up off the ground a lot sooner than the right did. Ellis shrugged and began walking that way with me.

It was comforting to be higher off the ground. Knowing that we'd get at least a few extra seconds to ready ourselves if any zombies tried climbing up the sides. We walked relatively side by side, the wood creaking under our feet from a long period of no use. After about 20 steps we relaxed our shoulders. We had been looking around expecting to see the horde emerging from the trees only to hear the sound of a soft cry. Apart from that, it was quiet.

We came up to another shack on level with the walkway. Ellis went in while I stood outside as look out. It was so small there was no need for both of us to search for any leftover supplies. Within moments he came back out. He held out his empty hands, shaking his head. I cursed under my breath and as if in response to it, a loud wailing erupted from somewhere around us. Ellis jumped at the sound. I put my finger to my lips, mouthing _shh it's just the witch_. He nodded, clutching his shotgun tightly in his hands.

If I had to say who hated witches more out of what our group used to be, I would always say Ellis. When I first met him, witches popped out of nowhere right in front of him like a tree appears in front of a drunk driver's car. Once we passed a gun shop, it was as if the witches became clever. Hiding in bushes or within clothing stacks waiting for Ellis to stumble a bit too close to them. If it weren't for the three of us all shooting the weeping bitch, he would have died long ago. But now that it's just the two of us...

We went as as quietly as we could. "Wow she's crying louder than usual..." Ellis mentioned, I shrugged. My foot fell through the board and I was hanging in the air before I knew what had happened. I heard the rotten wood hit the ground as I swung my free hand onto the edge. I could hear the crying morph into a low growl. Ellis had dropped his shotgun and had gotten down on his knees in front of me. "Hold on Nick!" He grabbed a handful of fabric from my blue button up shirt. The growl became higher pitched. "I'll get ya back up" he said frantically, attempting to pull me up.

One good yank from his end was all my sleeve needed to tear. I stared at the fabric watching every fiber rip. I could see the same fear in Ellis' eyes as sleeve separated from shirt. I landed on the ground mere moments later. Thick, dirty water began to seep into my clothes. A loud, high pitched scream erupted from around me. Instinctively I moved to cover my ears. Before my hands even reached my ears I felt something rip into my forearm. I screamed, water filling my lungs. I lifted my head up only to come face-to-face with the witch.

"He-lp! She'...s shkillung me!" I tried to yell to Ellis while struggling in the water, failing keep the witch at bay. During the short bursts of air I received I noticed Ellis was no longer on the walkway. _That fucking redneck left me to die here!_As soon as that thought crossed my mind blood splattered on the ground. The witch splashing into the water beside me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of the water.

"Oh man Nick, that was close." Ellis pulled me to my feet. He cautiously shoved the magnum through my belt. I just stood there as he patted my body down checking for any broken bones. Finally both of his hands were on my face. He stared into my eyes and I could tell he was shaking. "Nick... holy shit man I thought I might have lost ya." Ellis wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I groaned in an attempt to make him remember I was still in pain despite nothing being broken. "Oh sorry man."

I took the ripped part of my sleeve and did my best to stuff it in my shirt to stop or at least slow the bleeding. "I can't thank you enough... but I swear... I feel like I can still hear her."

"I know what you mean." As soon as he said that we both knew; there was another witch somewhere nearby. _Fuck._

We managed to find a ladder and get back up to higher ground. Ellis walked slowly making sure to never get more than ten feet in front of me and my limping. Every few minutes he'd turn and ask if I was alright. The answer was a sarcastic no each time, followed with a smile to reassure him.

We soon arrived at a little covered part of the raised planks. On the left side was a table that held a sniper rifle which I gladly exchanged my machine gun for. Immediately I looked through the scope to see if there was a chance I could spot any upcoming dangers. "It sounds like that witch has gotten louder..." At that exact moment, my sights landed on her. She on off the on the left side of the planks after some stairs in the water. No way we'd get past splashing through that water. I nudged Ellis, pointing to her. "Ah shiet."

From there we tip-toed down the creaking stairs. Both of us knew we could not go straight. Neither of us wanted to risk it. Luckily on the right side was a patch of dry land that we could run on. Hastily jumping off, we ran towards the little outhouse. Ellis pointed out the planks of wood laid over shallow water and we quickly followed those to a hill that housed a sewage drain.

Stepping inside and closing that steel door was like finally having a true moment to breathe.


End file.
